May 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 25

PHOTO COURTESY OF EDDIE CAMPOS, MOUNTAIN RECREATION

Latino community members in Eagle County, Colorado,
attend a bilingual adult learn to swim lesson hosted
by Mountain Recreation.

and more. This requires double the work and double the
resources - and your community will thank you for it.

Belonging
This is where the real work begins. Due to ethnic inequities and divides present in our community and across
the nation, many Latino patrons (kids and adults) appear hesitant at the front door, as our staff and participants are predominately white. Part of closing the gap
is creating an inclusive space and experience that our
Latino community can feel welcomed in.
Through our diversity, equity and inclusion training,
named " Forward Together, " consultants will help us
re-examine our own diverse perspectives, lived experiences and unconscious biases, and will help us broaden our
acceptance of others. This means reassessing our systems,
policies and overall customer experiences to achieve a
deep understanding of our diverse community, the bicultural dynamics at play, and discover what we didn't know.

Closing the Gap
To fully close the gap, there is one key element that
should not be underestimated that will impact every
step of the journey: representation. Regardless of the
diversity in your unique community, representation
will improve your approach, maximize your reach and
ensure a positive interaction and impact.
If you hope to serve your diverse community, know you
will have more success by mirroring it through your staff.
No, I am not talking about checking the box and having a
few tokenized staff members - I am talking about taking
an internal look at your agency to see where you can level
the playing field and achieve equity and inclusion for all.
What can your organization do if this is not currently
a viable option? One of the biggest elements in representation as it relates to our Latino community is language.
So, our administrator, front desk staff, lifeguards and
other staff are learning Spanish, taking lessons twice a
week and doing their homework to better understand
and welcome the members of our community. These
staff are bridge builders in the making!

about these individuals' needs, interests and barriers, and
have created an open space where our community is empowered to directly guide the district's offerings, rather
than the district deciding what is needed.
Closing the gap has required great work and sacrifice, and much work still needs to be done, but every
day we aim to be better than yesterday.
Eduardo " Eddie " Campos is Marketing and Communications
Manager for Mountain
Recreation (ECampos@MountainRec.org).
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Continued Participation
We want to go above and beyond, so that our Latino
community can continue to participate with us (including
through $70,000 in scholarships) and have a seat at the table in deciding the future of our district. Communication
must be a two-way street, so we started our first-ever Latino Advisory Committee. Here we are learning firsthand

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May 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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